Thursday, April 30, 2015

A restaurant in the northern suburbs of Boston that focuses mainly on upscale Italian fare is moving to another part of the city.

According to an article in the Melrose Free Press, Absolutely Fabulous has had to vacate its home on Main Street in the downtown section of the city, with the plan being to possibly reopen a little ways north of the original location on Franklin Street in the Melrose Highlands area. The article indicates that the closure was apparently due to a conflict with the landlord, with the dining spot ultimately being evicted from the premises.

The proposed new location of Absolutely Fabulous would be in the historic Corinthian Hall building, which is by the corner of Franklin Street and Greenwood Street a few blocks south of the Wakefield line. If all goes as planned, the dining spot will be in its new home in the late summer or early fall, and the Free Press says it will continue to be "an Italian fine dining spot" but now with options for families with children.

[August 26 update: Eater Boston states that plans have fallen through for Absolutely Fabulous moving to the Corinthian Hall building on Franklin Street because they say "the build out in that location is just too overwhelming." Currently, they are looking at a couple of other spaces in the local area instead, with the hope being to move into one of them and possibly opening later this fall if all goes well.]

A restaurant and bar located in an historic building in Boston's Financial District is undergoing a name change.

According to a licensing board page within the City of Boston website, The Vault on Water Street is petitioning to change its name to Vanderbilt Kitchen and Bar. It is not yet known what other changes (if any) might be coming to the place, though it does appear that it may be continuing to operate under the same ownership. (As soon as we get more information, we will post an update here.)

[May 14 update: According to a post from the Boston Hospitality and Tourism Industry Blog, The Vault is now officially Vanderbilt Kitchen and Bar, though it is still not known what changes have taken place to the spot.]

The Vault, which first opened approximately 10 years ago, is located in an historic bank building; the place mostly features classic American fare along with full bar offerings.

The address for for this spot is 105 Water Street, Boston, MA, 02109. Its website can be found at http://thevaultboston.com/

What had once been a local group of Asian restaurants--and is now down to just one--may complete its disappearance from the restaurant scene, depending on the outcome of an upcoming hearing.

According to a licensing board page within the City of Boston website, Jae's Cafe in the South End of Boston is seeking to transfer its stock and have new officers, directors, and shareholders for the space, with the Columbus Avenue restaurant being replaced by a new spot called Shun's Kitchen. If the request is approved, this will be the final location of Jae's to shut down, as other locations in the Theatre District, Back Bay, Brookline, Cambridge, Chestnut Hill, and North Adams have also closed over the past decade or so.

Jae's Cafe, which first opened in the South End approximately 25 years ago, has been known as a spot to get a variety of Korean, Japanese, and Thai dishes, along with other Asian fare.

The address for Jae's in the South End (and the new Shun's Kitchen) is 520 Columbus Avenue, Boston, MA, 02118.

[May 6 update: The Boston Business Journal mentions that Shun Chen, who is a majority owner of Jae's in the South End, will also be a majority owner of Shun's Kitchen; the article also says that the proposed dining spot will focus more on Chinese and Japanese fare, and if given the green light by the city, could possibly open around September 1 after completing renovations to the space.]

December 16 update: Eater Boston mentions that Shun's Kitchen is now open, and it features ramen, sushi, stir-fry dishes, and more.]

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

A little-known outdoor bar just south of Boston that has sweeping hilltop views is upgrading its space.

According to multiple posts on its social media pages, the Crossing Nines in Quincy has opened for the season with its tent going up a couple of weeks ago--and it has announced that it is in the middle of a patio expansion that will include fire pits and outdoor couches. It is not known exactly when the Crossing Nines patio will be ready, though a recent post says it is "nearing completion."

[May 8 update: According to a Facebook post from the place, the expanded patio at the Crossing Nines is now open.]

The Crossing Nines is located next to the driving range at the Granite Links Golf Club, across from The Tavern at Quarry Hills restaurant and bar and the golf course's clubhouse. The bar offers breakfast items in the morning and burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, flatbread pizza, and a full bar later in the day. The golf course, Crossing Nines, and The Tavern at Quarry Hills all sit high above the rest of Quincy and Milton with views of Boston, the ocean, and the nearby Blue Hills from various vantage points.

The address for the Granite Links Golf Club is 100 Quarry Hill Drive, Quincy, MA, 02169. Its website can be found at http://www.granitelinksgolfclub.com/ while the Facebook page for the Crossing Nines is at https://www.facebook.com/CrossingNines

A pastry shop in East Somerville that has been in business for nearly 50 years is getting ready to shut its doors.

The Somerville Times is reporting that Patsy's Pastry Shop on Broadway will be closing down on May 4, with a new structure consisting of 19 apartment units taking its place. The article mentions that the new building will have space for a shop of some kind on the ground level, and that Patsy's has first crack at the space if they want it, but co-owner Sal Ferrigno indicates that while it is something they may consider, they have not made a definite decision on this, adding that "none of us have been on a vacation for a very long time."

Patsy's Pastry Shop, which first opened in 1968, has been known in part for its variety of cakes, pies, cookies, and pastries, including a number of Italian treats (cannoli, amaretto, anise cookies, almond biscotti, etc.).

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Several more stories and articles focusing on the Boston-area restaurant scene came out over the past week, including a high-end Back Bay hotel (with a French restaurant in it) going to the auction block, a local chef hosting a new Travel Channel show, and a local group of burger spots announcing a new location. In addition, our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants) included a new review of a roast beef joint northwest of the city, a photo of a chocolate treat from an old-school Italian pastry shop, and a question on chicken wings.

A dive bar that is popular with college students might be having its hours cut after a string of incidents and violations.

Universal Hub is reporting that Mary Ann's in the Cleveland Circle section of Brighton will be meeting with the Boston Licensing Board at the nearby Metropolitan Waterworks Museum next Monday, with the hearing focusing on the possibility of reducing the bar's hours from its current closing time of 2:00 AM. This comes on the heels of a recent eight-day suspension that stems from underage drinking at the bar, along with several other suspensions over the past year and a half from the use of fake ids and minors being in possession of alcohol.

The attorney for Mary Ann's tells the board that the place would immediately stop accepting out-of-state licenses, instead requiring a Massachusetts ID, military ID, or passport, according to UH.

Mary Ann's is known mainly as a hangout for BC students--and most of the incidents have involved students from that college.

A local chain of restaurants that features "real" fast food is opening a new location in one of the hottest parts of Boston.

A Facebook post from the place confirms what we mentioned in an earlier article, that b.good is going to open in the city's Seaport District. The note says that the shop is coming to the Vertex Building on Northern Avenue next to the Federal Courthouse, and if all goes as planned, it could be opening before the end of the summer.

[January 1, 2016 update: A new Facebook post from b.good mentions that the Seaport District location of b.good is now open.]

The b.good chain, which focuses on healthy versions of items such as burgers, fries, shakes, and more, currently has locations in Boston's Financial District, Downtown Crossing, the Back Bay (three), Harvard Square in Cambridge, Bedford, Burlington, Dedham, Hingham, and Newton, and another outlet is planned for the Longwood Medical Area as well. [Ed note: Now open.]

The address for this new dining spot in the Seaport District is: b.good, 50 Northern Avenue, Boston, MA, 02210. The website for the b.good chain can be found at: http://www.bgood.com/

A couple of months after it temporarily closed, it appears that a Cambridge sports bar that was the only one of its kind in the region--and apparently the first of its kind in the entire country--will not be reopening.

According to a source who works for the city, Hit Wicket in Inman Square is closed for good, a bit less than two years after first opening its doors on Cambridge Street. The dining and drinking spot was a cricket-themed place, offering foods from places that feature the sport, including Australia, England, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the West Indies, and New Zealand. In February, Hit Wicket shuttered with the hope being that it would reopen at some point, but it appears that those plans never came to fruition.

Hit Wicket first opened in June of 2013, taking over the space where Spice and Rice had been.

More than two years after it closed--and a year after an announcement was due to come on its space--it now looks like a landmark downtown Boston restaurant will be replaced by a new eatery that will pay homage to it.

Boston Magazine is reporting that Yvonne's is looking to open in the former Locke-Ober space on Winter Street, with Chris Jamison of Lolita Cocina in the Back Bay and business partner Mark Malatesta being behind it. The article says Yvonne's will be a "modern supper club" that includes a library bar and dishes that honor Locke-Ober, such as an Argentine flank-steak matambre (a rolled stuffed steak). The kitchen will be headed up by Juan Pedrosa of Glenville Stops in Allston and Tom Berry of Nantucket's Proprietors, while cut-glass cocktail towers for the bar will be coming from Palmer Matthews of Drink in the city's Fort Point neighborhood.

Monday, April 27, 2015

[Ed note: This article was updated on April 30 to reflect information pointing toward an apparent renovation taking place.]

An Italian restaurant a few blocks south of Fenway Park has closed, and it is not known at this point in time if it will reopen.

According to several sources, including a poster on the Chowhound site, Trattoria Toscana on Jersey Street is shuttered, with its website down, its Facebook page gone, and its phone no longer working. Messages and posts to food writers and locals have come up with little additional information, and there is nothing on the City of Boston website indicating that it is closed for good or that its license is being transferred.

[April 30 update: Eater Boston states (via a Twitter post) that Trattoria Toscana now has a note out front, saying that the restaurant is "closed for a bit to complete major renovations....It may take a while, but please check back soon!" It is not known whether the dining spot will reopen as a completely new place with a new name or whether it will remain Trattoria Toscana; as soon as we find out more, we will post another update here.]

[May 11 update: The Boston Globe confirms that Trattoria Toscana is indeed going through renovations, and a message from the Globe indicates that it will remain Toscana for now.]

A popular Italian eatery and food shop in Brookline's Coolidge Corner is going to be opening a second location a few miles to the west.

According to a Twitter post (and confirmed by the place, also via Twitter), Bottega Fiorentina on Harvard Street will be joined by another location somewhere in Newton Centre, with the new one slated to open sometime this summer. Based on the offerings at the Brookline shop, expect to see such items as antipasto plates, salads, sandwiches, made-to-order pastas, and Italian desserts at the Newton location.

[February 10, 2016 update: Eater Boston states that the new location of Bottega Fiorentina could be only a few weeks away from opening in a space on Centre Street, and that its menu will be the same as that of the Brookline location. The article says that the new shop will have 16 seats, a counter along the window, a picnic table, and regular tables.]

[June 2, 2016 update: A new post from Eater Boston mentions that the Newton location of Bottega Fiorentina plans to soft-open this Sunday (June 5) at 11:00 AM and that it will offer free espresso that day.]

Another location of Bottega Fiorentina had been on Newbury Street in Boston's Back Bay until it closed in the summer of 2012.

The address for the Brookline location of Bottega Fiorentina is 313B Harvard Street, Brookline, MA, 02446. Its website can be found at http://www.bottegabrookline.com/

A very well-known Boston restaurant is soon going to be closing its doors, though a new dining spot that will be one of the only restaurants of its kind in the area will take its place.

The Boston Globe is reporting that Michael Schlow is closing Via Matta in Park Square toward the end of May and will open Doretta Taverna and Raw Bar in its space once renovations are complete (likely in the fall). The article says that the new spot from Schlow will feature "high-quality Greek-inspired cuisine," with a few options being zucchini chips with yogurt, roasted whole fish, flatbreads, and bone-in lamb shoulder.

[May 27 update: According to a press release, Michael Schlow will be hosting "The Last Supper" for Via Matta this Saturday (May 30).]

It looks like a diner in the western suburbs of Boston is getting ready to close its doors for good.

According to multiple sources (including a Facebook friend, an emailer, and a poster on the Chowhound site), the Sweet Peach Diner in Belmont is apparently shutting down, with its last day in business possibly being sometime next weekend. (The diner was closed for the day by the time this news was received--and it is closed on Mondays--so no one could be reached there.) This comes only a few months after a proposed sale of the Trapelo Road eatery fell through, according to an earlier article in the Belmontonian, which said that the Sweet Peach was planning to be purchased by Dennis Dyer of the New Yorker Diner in Watertown, only to have it return to the original owner in the hopes that it might be purchased by someone else.

[April 30 update: The Belmont Citizen-Herald states that the Sweet Peach Diner will close for good on Sunday, May 3.]

The Sweet Peach Diner first opened in July of 2012, offering classic diner fare along with Southern-style dishes. It took over the space where Andros Diner had been for more than 30 years. (One of the persons involved with Andros now runs another My Other Kitchen on nearby Pleasant Street.)

Friday, April 24, 2015

It looks like a Boston neighborhood could become home to a kosher hotel and restaurant--and it may be the first of several (or more) such places.

Universal Hub is reporting that developer Nissim Shimon Trabelsi is looking to open what would apparently be called the King David Hotel in West Roxbury, with the spot opening on the VFW Parkway by the Dedham line. The article says that the 69-room hotel would have a glatt-kosher restaurant along with "his and hers mikvah baths," a swimming pool, and a ballroom. Trabelsi is also in talks with several hotel management companies with the plan being to make the West Roxbury spot the first of a chain of kosher hotels and restaurants.

The Boston Redevelopment Authority has not yet scheduled a vote on the hotel and restaurant, according to UH.

It appears that the address for the proposed King David Hotel would be 1650 VFW Parkway, West Roxbury, MA, 02132.

A burger spot that features customized hamburgers using high-tech equipment and rather interesting cooking techniques is on its way to Boston.

The Boston Globe is reporting that Beta Burger is planning to open on Tremont Street in the city's Mission Hill neighborhood, with founder Adrian Wong hoping to have the eatery become what the article says would be "the Chipotle of the beef-and-bun segment, but with an unusual cooking technique." Wong plans to offer burgers cooked using a water vapor oven that makes the patties particularly moist, with the burgers being cooked for approximately an hour at 135 degrees, mirroring the currently popular sous vide style of cooking. When orders are placed, the burgers are then transferred to a grill where "texture, flavor, and visual appeal" are given to the patties.

[July 9 update: BostInno mentions (via an interview with the founder) that Beta Burger plans to open in early August.]

A high-end Back Bay hotel that is home to a relatively new French restaurant appears to be headed toward the auction block.

The Boston Globe is reporting that Irish Bank Resolution Corp. is looking to sell the Mandarin Oriental Boston hotel on Boylston Street and is seeking approval of an auction from a bankruptcy judge. The article says that IRBC, which came to be after Anglo Irish Bank Corp. was dissolved and nationalized by the Irish government, is hoping to sell the property while the real estate market in Boston is still hot, and that some of the hotel's apartments have already been put up for sale as condos.

The hotel, which is run by the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, is home to Bar Boulud, a high-end restaurant that Chef Daniel Boulud opened last September. (The original Bar Boulud opened in New York in 2008.)

The Mandarin Oriental Boston and Bar Boulud are located at 776 Boylston Street by the Prudential Center.

[Ed note: This article was updated on April 25 to reflect the fact that the restaurant has reopened.]

A Chinese restaurant in North Cambridge that is known in part for its house-made dumplings has reopened a few weeks after closing for unknown reasons.

According to Rich O's Ravings, Qingdao Garden on Mass. Ave. is open once again as of April 24 after being shut down for awhile now, with a previous note out front saying it was temporarily closed until further notice as of March 31. This is at least the second time that Qingdao Garden closed for a stretch of time over the past several years, with the place shutting down for renovations in September of 2010 (and taking their website offline at the same time) and not reopening until March of 2011.

Qingdao Garden is a dining spot that our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants) has featured as an under-the-radar place for dumplings and other Chinese items. The review can be found below:

Thursday, April 23, 2015

It looks like one of the Boston area's truly classic dive bars has shut its doors for good.

A check on the place last night showed that Parrotta's Alpine Lodge in Chelsea was dark, with a note out front that was unable to be read at the time. A phone call placed to the Winnisimmet Street bar today indicated that the phone is out of service, and a source involved with the city (and who used to go to the place) tells us that it is apparently closed for good and that the building has been sold. (Our source does not know what might be moving into the space.)

Parrotta's Alpine Lodge has been known as a somewhat questionable and rather colorful watering hole that was mostly a hangout for locals, though media people and others outside of the area have been visitors there as well. One interesting Yelp post includes the following description:

Parrotta's Alpine Lodge. Two of those three words are lies; I'll leave it to you to figure out which two.It smells kind of bad. The floor is buckled wood. The bartender is mean. The jukebox is broken. The back room is full of questionable looking individuals....Last week I stopped in here...There was nobody there but the [bartender] and [a security guard] playing rummy together. I asked if I could have next game; the bartender looked at me like i was made of poop and said "No." There is absolutely no reason to go to this bar, and that is what makes it awesome.

A former chef at a top Boston restaurant--and winner of Bravo's Top Chef competition--is returning to television, this time hosting a show that is a collaboration with one of the most popular newspapers in America.

Boston Magazine is reporting that Kristen Kish will be hosting "36 Hours" on the Travel Channel with former pro soccer player Kyle Martino, with the New York Times having a column that coincides with the episodes. The article says that the show will have Kish and Martino go to cities around the world and spent one and a half days in each place, having "local insiders" show them some of the more unique culinary spots.

Kristen Kish worked as chef de cuisine in Boston's Fort Point neighborhood, and she was also crowned champion of Top Chef: Seattle in the 2012/2013 season.

More information on "36 Hours" (which premiers later this year) can be found at the link below:

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

A few more stories and articles centering on the Boston-area restaurant scene came out over the past week, including two Boston bars spared the wrecking ball, a celebrity chef and TV host looking to open an Italian emporium at the Pru, and a highly-rated deli going up for sale. In addition, our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants) included an updated review of an Australian meat pie spot on the water, a question on the best pizza in New England, and a photo of a piece of pie from an old-school Italian pastry shop.

A Japan-based coffee roaster is opening its first shop in the United States--and it would be right in the heart of Boston.

Eater Boston is reporting (via Universal Hub) that Ogawa Coffee is seeking approval for a common victualler license to operate on Milk Street in the city's Downtown Crossing area, with the Boston Licensing Commission looking into the proposal this week. If approved, the coffee shop would feature what an earlier article in The Boston Globe says is "latte art that will blow your mind."

[April 23 update: The Boston Business Journal states that Ogawa will open its Boston shop on May 22.]

The Globe states that Ogawa Coffee will have event space along with a training studio and a brewer's lab, and that Haruna Murayama (the 2010 World Latte Art champion) is going to be overseeing the coffee menu at the Boston shop.

The address for this new coffee place in Downtown Crossing is: Ogawa Coffee, 10 Milk Street, Boston, MA, 02108.

[Ed note: This article was updated on April 22 to reflect new information given.]

A local group of Mexican restaurants has just gotten a bit smaller.

According to one of our sources, Papagayo in Charlestown is now closed, with all of the signage for the City Square dining spot being removed, and a call to one of the other locations of Papagayo has confirmed that the Charlestown location is indeed no longer in operation. It is not known why the restaurant closed, nor is it known what might be going into the space at this point in time; as soon as we hear more, we will post an update here.

Papagayo first opened in Charlestown in the spring of 2013, replacing a location of Max and Dylans (which was under the same ownership). Currently, existing locations of Papagayo can be found at Fort Point in Boston, Downtown Crossing, and Assembly Row in Somerville, with a new one coming to Saugus as well.

[April 22 update: Eater Boston mentions that the closing of Papagayo in Charlestown is apparently more of a move, as the management team from the now-closed City Square location will be opening the upcoming spot at 819 Broadway (Route 1) in Saugus in late May or early June.]

[June 8 update: A new article from Eater Boston indicates that Papagayo opens in Saugus tomorrow (Tuesday, June 9).]

The address for the now-closed location of Papagayo in City Square is 1 Chelsea Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129. The website for the other locations is at http://www.papagayoboston.com/

Last year, we reported that a local group of burger restaurants was interested in opening within an historic building in Roxbury that was being restored. Now we have learned that this is on the verge of becoming reality.

According to an article in The Boston Herald, Tasty Burger is signing a lease to open in the Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building in Dudley Square. The article says that the rehabbed structure--which was formerly called the Ferdinand Building and dates back to the 1880s--will also become home to a women’s clothing shop, a convenience store that offers healthy food, an eyecare place, and a gourmet pizza spot.

[December 9 update: The new Tasty Burger in Dudley Square is not yet open, but a Twitter post from @BostonTweet indicates that the signs are now up for the place.]

[February 22, 2016 update: Eater Boston states that Tasty Burger in Roxbury is now open.]

Tasty Burger currently has locations in the Fenway, South Boston, and Cambridge's Harvard Square, with a new one getting ready to open in the Back Bay as well. Its website can be found at http://www.tastyburger.com/

Sunday, April 19, 2015

A landmark North Shore restaurant that was demolished last year will finally be replaced by a new dining spot this summer.

According to a Facebook post, Mission on the Bay is going to open in the former Red Rock Bistro space in Swampscott, with the waterfront restaurant eyeing a possible July opening. The Red Rock closed its doors in the winter of 2014 to make way for a new concept from new owners, but the owners surprised the town by tearing down the building a couple of months later, leading to a temporary halt to the project by the building inspector.

[August 14 update: The Swampscott Patch indicates that the opening of Mission on the Bay has been delayed at least in part by the fact that the building boom in the Boston area means that there aren't enough builders available. It appears that the restaurant might not be opening until the mid- to late fall now.]

[April 15, 2016 update: After a long construction delay, it looks like Mission on the Bay could be opening later this month or early next month, according to a new article in The Swampscott Reporter.]

[May 15, 2016 update: According to a source, Mission on the Bay is now open.]

An earlier article from The Daily Item of Lynn mentions that the new dining spot gets its name from Mission Oak Grill in Newburyport, which partners Wellington Augusto, Martin Bloom, and Robert Hoffman are involved with (Bloom was also the founder of the Vinny Testa's chain).

The address for the new Mission on the Bay is 141 Humphrey Street, Swampscott, MA, 01907. The website for the restaurant will be at http://www.missiononthebay.com/

Friday, April 17, 2015

It looks like a new restaurant is coming to one of the hottest parts of .

Eater Boston is reporting that a place called Yuki Shabu - Sushi has a sign up on Bow Street in Union Square in the space where Union Square Donuts had been until moving a couple of storefronts away. The article also says that a phone call placed to the office of the city clerk indicated that the Somerville Licensing Commission's secretary does not have anything in her records showing that this restaurant has applied for a license to operate within the space. EB does say that the Somerville Inspectional Services Division shows that a construction company was given the green light to renovate the space last fall, however.

A subsequent update from Eater Boston mentions that a company called Yuki LLC was set up last May (with this information coming from public records from the Massachusetts Corporations Division) and that the manager listed is also a person behind the Thai restaurant Sweet Ginger, which is on Bow Street as well.

The address for Yuki is 16 Bow Street, Somerville, MA, 02143.

[March 16, 2016 update: A Twitter post from @EatBoston indicates that Yuki is now open, and that it is apparently called "Yuki Shabu Combo," focusing mainly on hot pot options rather than both hot pot and sushi.]

Earlier this year, we reported that a couple of well-known drinking spots in downtown Boston could be losing their homes to make way for new development. Now we have learned that while the development has been approved, the two bars will not have to move out,

According to an article in BostInno, the Boston Redevelopment Authority has given the green light for new residential units to come to Broad Street in the Financial District, but the plans include the preservation of both The Littlest Bar and The Times Restaurant and Pub. Back in January, it appeared that The Littlest Bar would possibly be turned into a lobby while the structure that houses The Times would possibly be demolished, but those plans have apparently been changed.

The new development will be 12 stories high with 52 condos and 3,500 square feet of commercial space, according to the post.

The address for The Littlest Bar is 102 Broad Street while the address for The Times is 112 Broad Street.

A new restaurant is coming to Brookline, and it will be moving into the space where another dining spot had been.

According to a post within the jobs section of the BostonChefs.com site, Sunny Boy is opening in Washington Square, with an earlier Twitter post indicating that it is taking over the former Cafe Nicholas space on Beacon Street. The job posting mentions that the place will be open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (including late-night dining) seven days a week and that it will focus on scratch-made dishes using "top-quality" ingredients from small family producers.

A note from Cappy in Boston indicates that Sunny Boy is affiliated with jm Curley and Merrill & Co. in Boston, as Babak Bina and Andy Cartin of BiNA Family Hospitality Group are a couple of names behind the upcoming restaurant.

[June 1 update: Eater Boston is reporting that Sunny Boy is now open, though only for breakfast and lunch for the time being (it will eventually offer dinner as well).]

The address for this new restaurant in Washington Square is: Sunny Boy, 1632 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA, 02446. A website does not appear to be up yet for the eatery, but its Instagram page can be found at https://instagram.com/sunnyboybrklne

The people behind an eclectic tapas bar and book/music shop in Jamaica Plain, along with an Italian/Mediterranean spot nearby, are in expansion mode again.

The Boston Globe is reporting that the Tres Gatos folks are going to be opening a casual, family-friendly Mexican restaurant on Centre Street, taking over the space where Ghazal Fine Indian Cuisine has been since the latter part of 2008. Once it opens, the new eatery will join the tapas bar as well as the Centre Street Cafe (both of which are also on Centre Street).

The Tres Gatos owners took over the Centre Street Cafe in 2014, reconcepting the place and opening it back up as an Italian restaurant. Previously, it had been known in part as a farm-to-table spot that featured a popular weekend brunch.

If all goes as planned, the new restaurant could be opening sometime in the fall.

[April 23 update: According to a poster on the Chowhound site, Ghazal is now closed, apparently shutting down sometime late last week. (Phone calls placed to the restaurant have gone unanswered today.)]

[May 7 update: Eater Boston mentions (via the Jamaica Plain News) that the new restaurant moving into the former Ghazal space will be called Casa Verde.]

[April 26, 2016 update: According to a source who posted on Facebook last night, Casa Verde has soft-opened, and it looks like it could be officially opening to the public later this week.]

[May 2, 2016 update: A message sent from the restaurant indicates that Casa Verde has fully opened.]

Thursday, April 16, 2015

[Ed note: This article was updated on May 12 to reflect confirmation of the project taking place.]

Two years ago, we reported that a celebrity chef might bring a location of his popular Manhattan emporium to Boston, and this winter we confirmed this, though its exact location was unknown at the time. Now we have just learned where the store will be, if all goes as planned.

The Boston Globe is reporting that Mario Batali and his business partners are close to signing a deal to open Eataly within the Prudential Center in the city's Back Bay neighborhood, with the Italian marketplace apparently going into the space where the food court has been. The article says that Eataly Boston would have 45,000 square feet of space and would be on three floors, with everything from pasta to olive oil, produce, meats, cheeses, and much more, along with at least six dining spots (a brewery with a retractable ceiling and patio and a rooftop grill are apparently in the works).

If the deal is finalized and everything goes as planned (the Globe says the plans could still change), Eataly Boston could be open in the middle to latter part of 2016.

[May 12 update: According to an article from BostInno, the lease for Eataly was signed on May 8 and the project is now moving ahead; construction is expected to start in June, with the place hoping to open at the Pru in the latter part of 2016.]

Last month we mentioned that a popular pizza place and sandwich shop in Cambridge was closing; now we have learned that the people behind a group of Vietnamese food trucks and brick-and-mortar restaurants are going to be expanding into that space.

Eater Boston is reporting (via a License Commission General Hearing page within the City of Cambridge website) that Bon Me is opening on Alewife Brook Parkway in the Fresh Pond/Alewife section of the city, taking over the space where Cheddar's had been since the late 1980s. Once it opens, the Vietnamese eatery will join other permanent locations in Cambridge's Kendall Square and the Fort Point neighborhood of Boston, along with food trucks that can be found in various locations around the Boston area.

[August 17 update: According to the Tables section of The Boston Globe, the new Bon Me on Alewife Brook Parkway opens September 9.]

[September 7 update: According to several sources (including the restaurant's website), the new Bon Me at Fresh Pond opened today.]

Expect to see such items as Vietnamese sandwiches, noodle salads, and rice bowls at the new Bon Me in Cambridge, depending on whether the menu is similar to that of the existing restaurants and food trucks.

The address for this upcoming restaurant in Cambridge is: Bon Me, 201 Alewife Brook Parkway, Cambridge, MA, 02138. Their website can be found at http://www.bonmetruck.com/

About Me

I am a writer, editor, and photographer from Boston, MA, who works in the field of publishing. I have founded two Web sites: Travel Guide of America and Boston's Hidden Restaurants, the latter of which is on track to attract more 1 million people annually. This blog, which is more news-based and also is seen by more than 1 million people each year, is an offshoot of Boston's Hidden Restaurants, which contains a separate blog within the site. I also have a blog called Boston Restaurant Talk, which is an offshoot of the Boston's Hidden Restaurants site. To get in touch, either email at hiddenboston@yahoo.com or go to the Boston's Hidden Restaurants contact page at http://hiddenboston.com/contactus.html